2024 AUSTRALIAN SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2024 Australian Quick Course Championships started with a bang, as 23-year-old Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown fired off a brand new World Report of 54.56 within the girls’s 100m backstroke.
Simply weeks faraway from her 100m again/200m again double gold in Paris, McKeown stated post-race she was hungry for extra competitors and easily couldn’t sit nonetheless.
“I used to be going a bit stir loopy, sitting at residence, so determined to leap again in two and a bit weeks in the past, and simply rising the periods,” the famous person advised Swimming Australia.
“I don’t imply to toot my very own horn however we’re doing a little fairly unbelievable stuff at coaching,” she stated.
McKeown’s particular person medals in Paris pre-qualified her for the Quick Course World Championships slated for December in Budapest, Hungary.
Whether or not or not she’s going remains to be undecided.
“I’ll see how I really feel after World Cups (in October/November) … and see if I wish to do World Quick Course in December … however I’m not placing any strain on myself.”
It’s vital to notice that McKeown is now coaching underneath Janelle Pallister, mom of fellow Olympian Lani Pallister, now that Michael Bohl is taking a long-term teaching hiatus.
On the change-up, McKeown stated, “Janelle’s been an absolute legend. She’s taken us on board and clearly she’s been underneath Bohl for just a few years now, so she is aware of what she’s doing. Lani additionally produced an amazing swim tonight, so did just a few different younger swimmers.”
For her half, 22-year-old Pallister ripped a brand new lifetime better of 1:52.73 to win the ladies’s 200m free and rating a roster slot for Budapest.
On the racing prospect, Pallister advised Swimming Australia,“Budapest is simply enjoyable. I feel it’s going to provide me a possibility to simply take pleasure in racing, for the sake of racing with out expectation. I simply wish to go and race, spend time with my associates, and form of fall again in love with swimming.
“My marketing campaign in Paris wasn’t one which I anticipated or one which anybody else anticipated. I don’t suppose anybody actually anticipates Covid and pulling out of two particular person occasions at your first Olympics. In order that was fairly robust to cope with coming residence.
“I felt rather a lot higher tonight than I did this morning. I feel this morning in all probability felt extra rusty, as a result of it’s the primary race again from Paris,” she stated.
“By some means, I managed to tug brief course collectively. I really like brief course racing, coaching not a lot, too many turns for me, however it’s at all times an absolute blast of a race.
“I simply suppose it (Quick Course) permits for a unique vitality system racing. You don’t get anyplace close to as fatigued and I feel with the cardio base that I’ve, it’s in all probability simpler to simply flip and preserve going, moderately than swimming out longer.”
Extra Quotes
- Edward Sommerville on nailing a brand new Australian Report within the males’s 200m free (1:40.64) – “It was on the tables nevertheless it was by no means assured. For me and my coaches, the purpose was simply to come back right here and swim quick … and a (nationwide) file? Actually … I shaved 4.33 seconds off my PB. It’s superb.”
- Joshua Yong on hitting a brand new Australian Report within the males’s 100m breast (56.76) – “I took a while off, two or three weeks and simply received again into it, so I really feel like the shape carries over from the Olympics and I wasn’t anticipating to lose an excessive amount of. I knew it was inside vary that I may probably qualify however to truly see it occur is cool,” he stated.
- “Quick Course has a particular place in my coronary heart. I received my first worldwide medal in that 4x100m relay in Melbourne.
- “My underwater abilities will not be precisely one of the best a part of my races however I’m lucky to work on my abilities right here to get them higher for lengthy course.
- “Racing these huge names that I watched on TV was an amazing expertise from Paris. But additionally gaining extra publicity to the worldwide scene and even experiencing a podium … I simply need extra of it”
- “Personally, I didn’t suppose I used to be a really emotional particular person however my expertise on the Olympics undoubtedly confirmed that there was a variety of emotion and it’s important to handle all of that.”
